Gigi (1958)

Lerner and Loewe were an interesting pair. They gave us the comedic My Fair Lady, the tragic Camelot, the very boring Brigadoon, and the I-have-never-seen-it Paint Your Wagon, which were very balanced musically. The first two were amazing, the second two were horrendous. So I was interested to see which category this fell into. Well, it was pretty evenly balanced - right in between. We've got mostly very mediocre songs like "The Night They Invented Champagne" and then suddenly we've got a sweet, funny, romantic song like "I Remember It Well." The actual story dragged out forever, and none of the characters really hit me as being intriguing, or really even vaguely interesting. However, this notice does bring one to ask - what IS it about Lerner and Loewe movies that their leading men simply talk their songs? There are some loely melodies - so why aren't they used? Argh. 3 stars.

Deathtrap (1982)

Wow. Not quite as wow-inducing as Sleuth, but still...wow. This is one of the very few movies where I had no inkling of the major plot twist. I mean none at all. And then it just kept surprising me. As far as mind-bending "who's good, who's bad" movies, this one definitely makes the top five! 4 stars.

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)

Plot: Two hapless frieght handlers find themselves encountering Dracula, the Frankenstein Monster and the Wolf Man.

Um....I can't believe I got this out of the library. I mean, Abbott and Costello movies aren't exactly profound...but I have to admit, I enjoyed most of it. Whenever there was actual plot, it got boring, but as long as it was just silly rambling, it was definitely fun. ("What's in there?" "Broom closet.") 2.5 stars.

Father Goose (1964)

As far as romantic comedies go, this one is pretty ruling. True, I really don't like Leslie Caron, but she managed to be quite fun and a very intriguing character. The Cary Grant character was also awesome. He just threw out these one-liners one after the other. I also didn't find the children too irritating - that's definitely a plus. I wouldn't mind seeing this one again someday. 3.5 stars.

12 Angry Men (1957)

Plot: A dissenting juror in a murder trial slowly manages to convince the others that the case is not as obviously clear as it seemed in court.

Don't know if I ever mentioned it, but I think this is one of the best classics ever. Not necessarily my favorite, but one of the best. In the short space of two hours, it manages to flesh out very thoroughly twelve distinct characters, at the same time keeping you intrigued with the mystery aspect of it. I found myself watching eagerly every second. Would I recommend this? You bet! 4.5 stars.

Bride and Prejudice (2004)

Oh, boy, was this fun. Light, fluffy, random musical numbers with really lame lyrics . . . what more could one ask for? :-) Seriously, this was THE perfect light and fluffy romantic comedy. Definitely didn't work as a musical, but part of the fun was the sappiness and ridiculousness of the musical numbers and their overacted choreography. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of watching this. Nice contrast to Bend It Like Beckham, which was a teen sports movie with a bit of substance to it. This has no substance at all. But if you loved the original Pride and Prejudice story, you're bound to love this one, which follows the original story much, much closer than, say, Bridget Jones's Diary. Good stuff. 3 stars.

Annie Get Your Gun (1950)

Hmm... getting a musical solely on the fact that it's a musical certainly doesn't guarantee it'll be good. Irving Berlin's never been a favorite of mine, so very few of the songs really made me sit up and take notice. "I've Got the Sun the Morning," while ridiculously unnecessary to the plot, was fun, and "Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better" was simply classic. To my horror, though, my two favorite songs from the show ("Old-Fashioned Wedding" and "I Got Lost In His Arms") were cut! That alone brings this down a couple notches. But Betty Hutton's charming performance as the eager, tomboyish Annie Oakley, brings those notches back up. ;-) 2.5 stars.